FIGURE 2—

Deterministic Markov model for relative cost-effectiveness of 3 primary molar pit-and-fissure sealant strategies: Iowa Medicaid, 2008–2011.

Note. AS = always sealed; ICER = incremental cost-effectiveness ratio; NS = never sealed; SC = standard care. We estimated ICERs by calculating the slope of each line connecting 2 pit-and-fissure sealant strategies for a given outcome (restoration or extraction avoided; e.g., in the AS strategy, there is a 96% likelihood that a tooth avoids a restoration). The mean cost of the AS strategy is about $23.25/tooth. The ICER of AS compared with SC (76% likelihood that a tooth avoids a restoration and $21.50/tooth) is about $9.00/restoration avoided ($23.21 − $21.45/0.96 − 0.76 ∼ $9.00/restoration avoided). The ICER of SC compared with NS is about $61.00/restoration avoided ($21.45 − $18.61/0.76 − 0.72 ∼ $61.00/restoration avoided).